Shoppers haggle for deals from desperate retailers

If you’re looking for an extra bargain before the holidays, you may only have to ask. With holiday sales shaping up to be the lowest in years, possibly the worst since the industry began annual comparisons in 1969, retailers say they’re taking consumers’ demands for good deals seriously. Some are extending return policies, while others are matching competitors’ prices.

Many are volunteering on-the-spot discounts and even letting customers haggle prices well down from what’s marked in a desperate bid to make the cash register ring.

“You’d have to be a moron not to ask for a discount,” said Stephen Hoch, a retailing expert at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

I wish I could haggle with a straight face…but I feel so uncomfortable doing it, that I wind up nervously smiling the whole time and it doesn’t look very intimidating or convincing. I’ll have to work on that.

There’s certainly no harm in asking, but if a salesperson says no please accept that. Some of us are not allowed to give out discounts and there’s nothing we can do about it – and being harassed, questioned, and stared at like we have ten heads will not change that!